Following her husband’s wishes, Wang Liu Shi entered the palace and conveyed the adopted son’s intentions to Fourth Madam Wang Shi of the Bai family. She also smuggled in her private agenda, bringing up her nieces who were far away in Guangling.

Wang Shi was gentle and soft, and because her mother was controlled by this couple, she feared that if she didn’t agree, the couple would make trouble for her mother, so she agreed.

The day before the palace flower banquet, the capital was exceptionally lively. Young ladies still awaiting marriage put all their efforts into investigating what the most outstanding girls in the capital would wear, striving not to clash with others.

Flower viewing, flower viewing… everyone understood that the Empress Dowager and the several Bai family madams in the palace wanted to “appreciate” these delicate flowers – in plain terms, they were evaluating marriage prospects!

Clear-minded families, such as Grand Commander Lu’s household, didn’t have their daughters dress too showily. It wasn’t that they thought Bai Qingyan definitely wouldn’t seek powerful in-laws for her brothers, but rather that the favor Bai Qingyan had already shown their family was quite substantial – one mustn’t be too greedy.

So on the night before the flower banquet, Grand Commander Lu specially called his daughter-in-law and granddaughter who would attend tomorrow’s flower banquet, giving them detailed instructions to treat everything with a normal mindset and not harbor thoughts of currying favor with dragons and phoenixes.

However, Lu Yuanpeng’s mother began calculating privately, thinking that since her father-in-law wouldn’t let his daughter curry favor with dragons and phoenixes, she could still interact with the Bai family madams and speak well of their family’s Yuanqing and Yuanpeng. Perhaps one of the Bai family phoenixes might land in their home!

Seeing the calculating gleam in Lu Yuanpeng’s mother’s eyes, Grand Commander Lu added, “Also, regarding the marriage matters of the young men in the family, don’t think about interfering. I will make those decisions myself. Whoever dares to act behind my back will receive divorce papers and return to their natal home!”

Grand Commander Lu spoke these words extremely sternly, immediately making the smiles disappear from both daughters-in-law’s faces. Instead, their faces turned pale, and they quickly dismissed any inappropriate thoughts from their hearts. Their father-in-law was decisive and absolute – they were truly quite afraid.

·

Third Madam in the palace was so busy her feet didn’t touch the ground, her legs were sore. When she finally sat down to rest, her face showed no fatigue but rather radiant spirits.

This was the first banquet the Bai family had hosted since their troubles began. Though hosting in the palace couldn’t compare to the old days at the Bai residence, hosting in the palace had its protocols, which weren’t a problem. Third Madam Li Shi had finally found an opportunity to have something to do, becoming more lively, and was happy despite being tired.

Li Shi had just picked up her teacup and taken a large sip when she heard Bai Qingyan’s voice from outside: “I heard Third Aunt was so busy her feet didn’t touch the ground. I thought Third Aunt must be too tired to get up, but unexpectedly, your complexion looks even better than before, full of energy!”

Li Shi quickly set down her tea. Surprised that no palace maid had announced the arrival, she smiled and walked with Bai Qingyan toward the inner room: “Being idle in the palace every day was truly boring. Thanks to Eldest Sister-in-law for finding me this task!”

Inside the bedchamber, eunuchs and palace maids knelt on the ground. Seeing that Nanny Hu, besides Third Aunt, was also kneeling, Bai Qingyan paused and told Nanny Hu that such formality wasn’t necessary in the future. Nanny Hu was extremely grateful, saying: “Miss is now the sovereign, this is proper!”

Bai Qingyan didn’t insist. After sitting with Li Shi on the soft couch by the window, she smiled and took out a letter Bai Jinzhi had sent back from her sleeve, handing it to Li Shi with both hands: “Third Aunt, this is a letter Little Fourth sent back, for you…”

Upon hearing about her daughter’s letter, Li Shi smiled even more happily and quickly took it. While opening the letter, she pretended to be angry and muttered: “This little thing, I thought her wings had truly hardened and she’d flown away without caring about her mother. Fortunately… she still has a conscience and knows to send letters home!”

Watching Third Aunt read Bai Jinzhi’s letter, Bai Qingyan accepted the tea Nanny Hu brought, took a small sip, dabbed her lips with a handkerchief, and looked up to see Third Aunt’s expression become solemn.

Bai Qingyan hadn’t opened and read the letter Bai Jinzhi sent to Third Aunt first, but had quickly delivered it here. Seeing Third Aunt’s expression change from earlier excitement to gravity, Bai Qingyan became worried but didn’t speak to interrupt.

Soon Li Shi finished reading the letter and looked up at Bai Qingyan, hesitating: “A’Bao…”

“What’s wrong?” Bai Qingyan reached out and took the letter from Li Shi’s hand, carefully reading through Bai Jinzhi’s letter content from top to bottom.

Bai Jinzhi’s letter described some amusing incidents she encountered in the military camp. For instance, that fool Lu Yuanpeng got into an argument with Yan soldiers but kept restraining himself from fighting, nearly dying of anger. Later, after being severely scolded by General Cheng, he rolled up his sleeves to fight those Yan soldiers, but was confused by their few words and instead exposed his relationship with Grand Commander Lu.

Later, the rumors became increasingly outrageous, even claiming Lu Yuanpeng was Grand Commander Lu’s illegitimate son.

Eventually, General Shen stepped forward to confirm that Lu Yuanpeng was Grand Commander Lu’s legitimate grandson, finally quelling the military gossip.

There was also the incident when Lu Yuanpeng and Sima Ping were ordered to settle refugees. Lu Yuanpeng caught a girl’s fancy – she was, after all, a Western Liang woman, very passionate, and Lu Yuanpeng couldn’t handle it. Bai Jinzhi kindly told the girl that Lu Yuanpeng was a girl at heart, not as mighty as the girl had seen him. Lu Yuanpeng drew his sword, wanting to fight her to the death.

The result was that Bai Jinzhi knocked Lu Yuanpeng down with three whip strikes. Lu Yuanpeng lay on the ground, feeling like crying, shouting heartbrokenly, “Bai Little Fourth, you hit me!”

Bai Jinzhi wrote that she found Lu Yuanpeng baffling – clearly he was the one who wanted to fight to the death, so should she not hit him and wait for him to hit her instead? This further confirmed her belief that Lu Yuanpeng was probably a girl at heart.

Reading further, Bai Qingyan noticed something off – why did all these amusing incidents Bai Jinzhi wrote about always involve Lu Yuanpeng?

Bai Qingyan looked up at Third Aunt.

Li Shi tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand, wondering whether Bai Jinzhi had developed feelings for Lu Yuanpeng. Otherwise, why would every sentence in this family letter mention Lu Yuanpeng?

But as a mother, Li Shi couldn’t rashly voice this concern. She turned to look at Nanny Hu…

Understanding the hint, Nanny Hu quickly led all the palace maids and eunuchs out. Only when the bedchamber contained just Bai Qingyan and Li Shi did Li Shi speak softly: “A’Bao, what do you think about this… Lu Yuanpeng?”

“Little Fourth has a childish nature. She probably just finds Lu Yuanpeng an interesting playmate!” Bai Qingyan smiled and placed Bai Jinzhi’s letter in front of Li Shi. “Though Little Fourth usually likes to cause trouble, she still has propriety in such matters! Moreover… with A’Qi, A’Yu, and Jinxiu watching, there absolutely won’t be any improper behavior! Even if we assume the worst and Little Fourth truly has feelings, Lu Yuanpeng… was once a reckless youth in the capital, but after joining the military, he’s shown talent. His family background would also be suitable for Little Fourth.”